Communication node, method performed by the same and storage medium

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a 5G or 6G communication system for supporting a higher data transmission rate. The present disclosure relates to a communication node, a method performed by the same and a computer-readable storage medium. A method performed by a communication node in a communication system is provided, the method comprising: obtaining configuration information of a physical signal; generating a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to a time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information; and transmitting or receiving a time domain signal generated based on the sequence.

Description

COMMUNICATION NODE, METHOD PERFORMED BY THE SAME AND STORAGE MEDIUM

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a field of communication, and particularly to a communication node, a method performed by the communication node, and a computer-readable storage medium.

[0002] 5G mobile communication technologies define broad frequency bands such that high transmission rates and new services are possible, and can be implemented not only in "Sub 6GHz" bands such as 3.5GHz, but also in "Above 6GHz" bands referred to as mmWave including 28GHz and 39GHz. In addition, it has been considered to implement 6G mobile communication technologies (referred to as Beyond 5G systems) in terahertz bands (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands) in order to accomplish transmission rates fifty times faster than 5G mobile communication technologies and ultra-low latencies one-tenth of 5G mobile communication technologies.

[0003] At the beginning of the development of 5G mobile communication technologies, in order to support services and to satisfy performance requirements in connection with enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), and massive Machine-Type Communications (mMTC), there has been ongoing standardization regarding beamforming and massive MIMO for mitigating radio-wave path loss and increasing radio-wave transmission distances in mmWave, supporting numerologies (for example, operating multiple subcarrier spacings) for efficiently utilizing mmWave resources and dynamic operation of slot formats, initial access technologies for supporting multi-beam transmission and broadbands, definition and operation of BWP (BandWidth Part), new channel coding methods such as a LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) code for large amount of data transmission and a polar code for highly reliable transmission of control information, L2 pre-processing, and network slicing for providing a dedicated network specialized to a specific service.

[0004] Currently, there are ongoing discussions regarding improvement and performance enhancement of initial 5G mobile communication technologies in view of services to be supported by 5G mobile communication technologies, and there has been physical layer standardization regarding technologies such as V2X (Vehicle-to-everything) for aiding driving determination by autonomous vehicles based on information regarding positions and states of vehicles transmitted by the vehicles and for enhancing user convenience, NR-U (New Radio Unlicensed) aimed at system operations conforming to various regulation-related requirements in unlicensed bands, NR UE Power Saving, Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) which is UE-satellite direct communication for providing coverage in an area in which communication with terrestrial networks is unavailable, and positioning.

[0005] Moreover, there has been ongoing standardization in air interface architecture / protocol regarding technologies such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) for supporting new services through interworking and convergence with other industries, IAB (Integrated Access and Backhaul) for providing a node for network service area expansion by supporting a wireless backhaul link and an access link in an integrated manner, mobility enhancement including conditional handover and DAPS (Dual Active Protocol Stack) handover, and two-step random access for simplifying random access procedures (2-step RACH for NR). There also has been ongoing standardization in system architecture / service regarding a 5G baseline architecture (for example, service based architecture or service based interface) for combining Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN) technologies, and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) for receiving services based on UE positions.

[0006] As 5G mobile communication systems are commercialized, connected devices that have been exponentially increasing will be connected to communication networks, and it is accordingly expected that enhanced functions and performances of 5G mobile communication systems and integrated operations of connected devices will be necessary. To this end, new research is scheduled in connection with eXtended Reality (XR) for efficiently supporting AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), MR (Mixed Reality) and the like, 5G performance improvement and complexity reduction by utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), AI service support, metaverse service support, and drone communication.

[0007] Furthermore, such development of 5G mobile communication systems will serve as a basis for developing not only new waveforms for providing coverage in terahertz bands of 6G mobile communication technologies, multi-antenna transmission technologies such as Full Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas and large-scale antennas, metamaterial-based lenses and antennas for improving coverage of terahertz band signals, high-dimensional space multiplexing technology using OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum), and RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface), but also full-duplex technology for increasing frequency efficiency of 6G mobile communication technologies and improving system networks, AI-based communication technology for implementing system optimization by utilizing satellites and AI (Artificial Intelligence) from the design stage and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions, and next-generation distributed computing technology for implementing services at levels of complexity exceeding the limit of UE operation capability by utilizing ultra-high-performance communication and computing resources.

[0008] Considering the development of wireless communication from generation to generation, the technologies have been developed mainly for services targeting humans, such as voice calls, multimedia services, and data services. Following the commercialization of 5th-generation (5G) communication systems, it is expected that the number of connected devices will exponentially grow. Increasingly, these will be connected to communication networks. Examples of connected things may include vehicles, robots, drones, home appliances, displays, smart sensors connected to various infrastructures, construction machines, and factory equipment. Mobile devices are expected to evolve in various form-factors, such as augmented reality glasses, virtual reality headsets, and hologram devices. In order to provide various services by connecting hundreds of billions of devices and things in the 6th-generation (6G) era, there have been ongoing efforts to develop improved 6G communication systems. For these reasons, 6G communication systems are referred to as beyond-5G systems.

[0009] 6G communication systems, which are expected to be commercialized around 2030, will have a peak data rate of tera (1,000 giga)-level bps and a radio latency less than 100μsec, and thus will be 50 times as fast as 5G communication systems and have the 1 / 10 radio latency thereof.

[0010] In order to accomplish such a high data rate and an ultra-low latency, it has been considered to implement 6G communication systems in a terahertz band (for example, 95GHz to 3THz bands). It is expected that, due to severer path loss and atmospheric absorption in the terahertz bands than those in mmWave bands introduced in 5G, technologies capable of securing the signal transmission distance (that is, coverage) will become more crucial. It is necessary to develop, as major technologies for securing the coverage, radio frequency (RF) elements, antennas, novel waveforms having a better coverage than orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), beamforming and massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antennas, and multiantenna transmission technologies such as large-scale antennas. In addition, there has been ongoing discussion on new technologies for improving the coverage of terahertz-band signals, such as metamaterial-based lenses and antennas, orbital angular momentum (OAM), and reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS).

[0011] Moreover, in order to improve the spectral efficiency and the overall network performances, the following technologies have been developed for 6G communication systems: a full-duplex technology for enabling an uplink transmission and a downlink transmission to simultaneously use the same frequency resource at the same time; a network technology for utilizing satellites, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and the like in an integrated manner; an improved network structure for supporting mobile base stations and the like and enabling network operation optimization and automation and the like; a dynamic spectrum sharing technology via collision avoidance based on a prediction of spectrum usage; an use of artificial intelligence (AI) in wireless communication for improvement of overall network operation by utilizing AI from a designing phase for developing 6G and internalizing end-to-end AI support functions; and a next-generation distributed computing technology for overcoming the limit of user equipment (UE) computing ability through reachable super-high-performance communication and computing resources (such as mobile edge computing (MEC), clouds, and the like) over the network. In addition, through designing new protocols to be used in 6G communication systems, developing mechanisms for implementing a hardware-based security environment and safe use of data, and developing technologies for maintaining privacy, attempts to strengthen the connectivity between devices, optimize the network, promote softwarization of network entities, and increase the openness of wireless communications are continuing.

[0012] It is expected that research and development of 6G communication systems in hyper-connectivity, including person to machine (P2M) as well as machine to machine (M2M), will allow the next hyper-connected experience. Particularly, it is expected that services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica could be provided through 6G communication systems. In addition, services such as remote surgery for security and reliability enhancement, industrial automation, and emergency response will be provided through the 6G communication system such that the technologies could be applied in various fields such as industry, medical care, automobiles, and home appliances.

[0013] The disclosed embodiment is to provide a communication node and method that can effectively provide services in a mobile communication system.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a method performed by a communication node in a communication system is provided, the method including: obtaining configuration information of a physical signal; generating a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to a time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information; and transmitting and / or receiving a time domain signal generated based on the sequence.

[0015] Alternatively, the generating of a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information comprises: generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and parameters related to a time offset of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information.

[0016] Alternatively, the configuration information comprises at least one of first configuration information related to the time duration of the physical signal, second configuration information related to the time offset of the physical signal, and third configuration information related to time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal.

[0017] Alternatively, the generating of the time domain signal based on the sequence comprises: performing a resource mapping on the sequence, mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal based on the configuration information to generate the physical signal; performing a Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to the physical signal to generate an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM baseband signal corresponding to the physical signal as the time domain signal.

[0018] Alternatively, the configuration information further comprises: fourth configuration information related to windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal for configuring to perform or not to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal during the procedure of generating the sequence or generating the physical signal; and / or fifth configuration information related to a type of the sequence for configuring whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on a ZC sequence.

[0019] Alternatively, the physical signal has the same signal amplitude on resource elements comprised in time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, or the physical signal have different signal amplitudes on at least two resource elements among the resource elements comprised in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal.

[0020] Alternatively, a phase of each element in the sequence is a quadratic function of an index value of this element.

[0021] Alternatively, the first configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform; the time duration of the physical signal; a number of samples corresponding to the time duration of the physical signal; and / or the second configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform; the time offset of the physical signal within an OFDM symbol; a number of samples corresponding to the time offset of the physical signal within the OFDM symbol; and / or the third configuration information comprises at least one of time domain resource information and frequency domain resource information of the physical signal.

[0022] Alternatively, the fourth configuration information comprises at least one of first information for indicating whether to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal, a window sequence, second information for indicating a type of the window sequence, parameters related to the window sequence; and / or the fifth configuration information comprises at least one of a group number into which the sequence is grouped, a sequence number within each group of the sequence, third information for indicating whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence.

[0023] Alternatively, if the configuration information does not comprise the fourth configuration information, or the configuration information comprises the fourth configuration information but the fourth configuration information does not comprise the first information, the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal is not performed; or if the configuration information comprises the fourth configuration information and the fourth configuration information comprises at least one of the window sequence, the second information, and the parameters related to the window sequence, the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal is performed; or if the configuration information does not comprise the fifth configuration information, or the configuration information comprises the fifth configuration information but the fifth configuration information does not comprise the third information or does not comprise the group number and the sequence number, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is not generated based on the ZC sequence; or if the configuration information comprises the fifth configuration information and the fifth configuration information comprises the group number and the sequence number, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is generated based on the ZC sequence.

[0024] Alternatively, the parameters related to the time duration comprises a first value or a first parameter value obtained based on the first value, wherein the first value is a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform, and the first value is a positive number not greater than 1; and / or the parameters related to the time offset comprises a second value or a second parameter value obtained based on the second value, wherein the second value is a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform, and the second value is a non-negative real number and not greater than a result obtained by subtracting the first value from 1.

[0025] Alternatively, in the case that the type of the sequence is a ZC sequence, the first parameter value is a prime obtained based on a third value and the first value, wherein the third value is a value which is co-prime with a largest prime that is not greater than a length of the sequence; and / or the second parameter value is a value obtained based on the first value, the second value and the largest prime.

[0026] According to a second aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a communication node is provided, the communication node comprising: a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform the method described above.

[0027] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions is provided, the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method described above.

[0028] According to the technical solution provided in embodiments of the present disclosure, by generating a sequence according to parameters related to a time duration of a physical signal obtained based on configuration information and transmitting and / or receiving a time domain signal generated based on the sequence, the time domain signal has better time domain sensing ability since the time domain signal is generated based on the sequence such that it is no longer aliased in the time domain and has a considerably reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and thus, the transmitted and / or received time domain signal, when used for integrated sensing and communications (ISAC), can facilitate better integrated sensing and communications.

[0029] It should be understood that the above general description and the detailed descriptions that follow are merely exemplary and explanatory and do not limit the present disclosure.

[0030] According to an embodiment of present disclosure, a communication node and method that can effectively transmit and receive a signal in a mobile communication system.

[0031] The accompanying drawings herein are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the disclosure, which are used in conjunction with the specification to explain the principles of the disclosure and do not constitute an undue limitation of the disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network 100 according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 2 illustrates an example base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0035] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a communication node according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating time domain characteristics of a physical signal according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a communication node according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0038] Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document. The term "couple" and its derivatives refer to any direct or indirect communication between two or more elements, whether those elements are in physical contact with one another. The terms "transmit," "receive," and "communicate," as well as derivatives thereof, encompass both direct and indirect communication. The terms "include" and "comprise," as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation. The term "or" is inclusive, meaning and / or. The phrase "associated with," as well as derivatives thereof, means to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, have a relationship to or with, or the like. The term "controller" means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation. Such a controller may be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and / or firmware. The functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. The phrase "at least one of," when used with a list of items, means that different combinations of one or more of the listed items may be used, and only one item in the list may be needed. For example, "at least one of: A, B, and C" includes any of the following combinations: A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, and A and B and C. Likewise, the term "set" means one or more. Accordingly, a set of items can be a single item or a collection of two or more items.

[0039] Moreover, various functions described below can be implemented or supported by one or more computer programs, each of which is formed from computer readable program code and embodied in a computer readable medium. The terms "application" and "program" refer to one or more computer programs, software components, sets of instructions, procedures, functions, objects, classes, instances, related data, or a portion thereof adapted for implementation in a suitable computer readable program code. The phrase "computer readable program code" includes any type of computer code, including source code, object code, and executable code. The phrase "computer readable medium" includes any type of medium capable of being accessed by a computer, such as read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), a hard disk drive, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), or any other type of memory. A "non-transitory" computer readable medium excludes wired, wireless, optical, or other communication links that transport transitory electrical or other signals. A non-transitory computer readable medium includes media where data can be permanently stored and media where data can be stored and later overwritten, such as a rewritable optical disc or an erasable memory device.

[0040] Definitions for other certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document. Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

[0041] The figures included herein, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Further, those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system.

[0042] FIGS. 1-3 below describe various embodiments of the present disclosure implemented in wireless communications systems. The descriptions of FIGS. 1-3 are not meant to imply physical or architectural limitations to the manner in which different embodiments may be implemented. Different embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably-arranged communications system.

[0043] FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless network according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the wireless network shown in FIG. 1 is for illustration only. Other embodiments of the wireless network 100 could be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 1, the wireless network includes a base station (next generation nodeB, gNB or gNodeB) 101, a gNB 102, and a gNB 103. The gNB 101 communicates with the gNB 102 and the gNB 103. The gNB 101 also communicates with at least one network 130, such as the Internet, a proprietary Internet Protocol (IP) network, or other data network.

[0045] The gNB 102 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a first plurality of user equipments (UEs) within a coverage area 120 of the gNB 102. The first plurality of UEs includes a UE 111, which may be located in a small business; a UE 112, which may be located in an enterprise (E); a UE 113, which may be located in a WiFi hotspot (HS); a UE 114, which may be located in a first residence (R1); a UE 115, which may be located in a second residence (R2); and a UE 116, which may be a mobile device (M), such as a cell phone, a wireless laptop, a wireless personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like. The gNB 103 provides wireless broadband access to the network 130 for a second plurality of UEs within a coverage area 125 of the gNB 103. The second plurality of UEs includes the UE 115 and the UE 116, as well as subscriber stations (SS, for example, UEs) 117, 118 and 119. In some embodiments, one or more of the gNBs 101-103 may communicate with each other and with the UEs 111-116 using existing wireless communication techniques, and one or more of the UE 111-119 may communicate directly with each other (e.g., UEs 117-119) using other existing or proposed wireless communication techniques.

[0046] Depending on the network type, the term "base station" or "BS" can refer to any component (or collection of components) configured to provide wireless access to a network, such as transmit point (TP), transmit-receive point (TRP), an enhanced (or "evolved") base station (eNodeB or eNB), a 5G base station (gNB), a macrocell, a femtocell, a wireless fidelity (WiFi) access point (AP), or other wirelessly enabled devices. Base stations may provide wireless access in accordance with one or more wireless communication protocols, e.g., 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), high speed packet access (HSPA), Wi-Fi 802.11a / b / g / n / ac, etc. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a base station-type apparatus and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to network infrastructure components that provide wireless access to remote terminals. Also, depending on the network type, the term "user equipment" (UE) can refer to any component such as a mobile station (MS), subscriber station (SS), remote terminal, wireless terminal, receive point, or user device. For the sake of convenience, the various names for a user equipment-type device and functionality are used interchangeably in this patent document to refer to remote wireless equipment that wirelessly accesses a BS, whether the UE is a mobile device (such as a mobile telephone or smartphone) or is normally considered a stationary device (such as a desktop computer or vending machine).

[0047] Dotted lines show the approximate extents of the coverage areas 120 and 125, which are shown as approximately circular for the purposes of illustration and explanation only. It should be clearly understood that the coverage areas associated with gNBs, such as the coverage areas 120 and 125, may have other shapes, including irregular shapes, depending upon the configuration of the gNBs and variations in the radio environment associated with natural and man-made obstructions.

[0048] As described in more detail below, one or more of the UEs 111-119 include circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, and one or more of the gNBs 101-103 includes circuitry, programing, or a combination thereof.

[0049] Although FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a wireless network, various changes may be made to FIG. 1. For example, the wireless network could include any number of gNBs and any number of UEs in any suitable arrangement. Also, the gNB 101 could communicate directly with any number of UEs and provide those UEs with wireless broadband access to the network 130. Similarly, each gNB 102-103 could communicate directly with the network 130 and provide UEs with direct wireless broadband access to the network 130. Further, the gNBs 101, 102, and / or 103 could provide access to other or additional external networks, such as external telephone networks or other types of data networks.

[0050] FIG. 2 illustrates an example base station according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the gNB 102 illustrated in FIG. 2 is for illustration only, and the gNBs 101 and 103 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, gNBs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 2 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a gNB.

[0051] As shown in FIG 2, the gNB 102 includes multiple antennas 200a-200n, multiple radio frequency (RF) transceivers 201a-201n, transmit (TX) processing circuitry 203, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 204. The gNB 102 also includes a controller / processor 205, a memory 206, and a backhaul or network interface 207.

[0052] The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive, from the antennas 200a-200n, incoming RF signals, such as signals transmitted by UEs in the network 100. The RF transceivers 201a-201n down-convert the incoming RF signals to generate intermediate frequency (IF) or baseband signals. The IF or baseband signals are sent to the RX processing circuitry 204, which generates processed baseband signals by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signals. The RX processing circuitry 204 transmits the processed baseband signals to the controller / processor 205 for further processing.

[0053] The TX processing circuitry 203 receives analog or digital data (such as voice data, web data, electronic mail, or interactive video game data) from the controller / processor 205. The TX processing circuitry 203 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate processed baseband or IF signals. The RF transceivers 201a-201n receive the outgoing processed baseband or IF signals from the TX processing circuitry 203 and up-converts the baseband or IF signals to RF signals that are transmitted via the antennas 201a-201n.

[0054] The controller / processor 205 can include one or more processors or other processing devices that control the overall operation of the gNB 102. For example, the controller / processor 205 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceivers 201a-201n, the RX processing circuitry 204, and the TX processing circuitry 203 in accordance with well-known principles. The controller / processor 205 could support additional functions as well, such as more advanced wireless communication functions.

[0055] For instance, the controller / processor 205 could support beam forming or directional routing operations in which outgoing signals from multiple antennas 200a-200n are weighted differently to effectively steer the outgoing signals in a desired direction. Any of a wide variety of other functions could be supported in the gNB 102 by the controller / processor 205.

[0056] The controller / processor 205 is also capable of executing programs and other processes resident in the memory 206, such as an operating system (OS). The controller / processor 205 can move data into or out of the memory 206 as required by an executing process.

[0057] The controller / processor 205 is also coupled to the backhaul or network interface 207. The backhaul or network interface 207 allows the gNB 102 to communicate with other devices or systems over a backhaul connection or over a network. The interface 207 could support communications over any suitable wired or wireless connection(s). For example, when the gNB 102 is implemented as part of a cellular communication system (such as one supporting 5G, LTE, or LTE-A), the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate with other gNBs over a wired or wireless backhaul connection. When the gNB 102 is implemented as an access point, the interface 207 could allow the gNB 102 to communicate over a wired or wireless local area network or over a wired or wireless connection to a larger network (such as the Internet). The interface 207 includes any suitable structure supporting communications over a wired or wireless connection, such as an Ethernet or RF transceiver.

[0058] The memory 206 is coupled to the controller / processor 205. Part of the memory 206 could include a random access memory (RAM), and another part of the memory 206 could include a Flash memory or other read only memory (ROM).

[0059] Although FIG. 2 illustrates one example of gNB 102, various changes may be made to FIG. 2. For example, the gNB 102 could include any number of each component shown in FIG. 2. As a particular example, an access point could include a number of interfaces 207, and the controller / processor 205 could support routing functions to route data between different network addresses. As another particular example, while shown as including a single instance of TX processing circuitry 203 and a single instance of RX processing circuitry 204, the gNB 102 could include multiple instances of each (such as one per RF transceiver). Also, various components in FIG. 2 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs.

[0060] FIG. 3 illustrates an example user equipment according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiment of the UE 116 illustrated in FIG. 3 is for illustration only, and the UEs 111-115 and 117-119 of FIG. 1 could have the same or similar configuration. However, UEs come in a wide variety of configurations, and FIG. 3 does not limit the scope of the present disclosure to any particular implementation of a UE.

[0061] As shown in FIG. 3, the UE 116 includes an antenna 301, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver 302, TX processing circuitry 303, a microphone 304, and receive (RX) processing circuitry 305. The UE 116 also includes a speaker 306, a controller or processor 307, an input / output (I / O) interface (IF) 308, an input device 309, a touchscreen display 310, and a memory 311. The memory 311 includes an OS 312 and one or more applications 313.

[0062] The RF transceiver 302 receives, from the antenna 301, an incoming RF signal transmitted by a gNB of the network 100. The RF transceiver 302 down-converts the incoming RF signal to generate an IF or baseband signal. The IF or baseband signal is sent to the RX processing circuitry 305, which generates a processed baseband signal by filtering, decoding, and / or digitizing the baseband or IF signal. The RX processing circuitry 305 transmits the processed baseband signal to the speaker 306 (such as for voice data) or to the processor 307 for further processing (such as for web browsing data).

[0063] The TX processing circuitry 303 receives analog or digital voice data from the microphone 304 or other outgoing baseband data (such as web data, e-mail, or interactive video game data) from the processor 307. The TX processing circuitry 303 encodes, multiplexes, and / or digitizes the outgoing baseband data to generate a processed baseband or IF signal. The RF transceiver 302 receives the outgoing processed baseband or IF signal from the TX processing circuitry 303 and up-converts the baseband or IF signal to an RF signal that is transmitted via the antenna 301.

[0064] The processor 307 can include one or more processors or other processing devices and execute the OS 312 stored in the memory 311 in order to control the overall operation of the UE 116. For example, the processor 307 could control the reception of forward channel signals and the transmission of reverse channel signals by the RF transceiver 302, the RX processing circuitry 305, and the TX processing circuitry 303 in accordance with well-known principles. In some embodiments, the processor 307 includes at least one microprocessor or microcontroller.

[0065] The processor 307 is also capable of executing other processes and programs resident in the memory 311, such as processes for channel state information (CSI) reporting on uplink channel. The processor 307 can move data into or out of the memory 311 as required by an executing process. In some embodiments, the processor 307 is configured to execute the applications 313 based on the OS 312 or in response to signals received from gNBs or an operator. The processor 307 is also coupled to the I / O interface 308, which provides the UE 116 with the ability to connect to other devices, such as laptop computers and handheld computers. The I / O interface 308 is the communication path between these accessories and the processor 307.

[0066] The processor 307 is also coupled to the touchscreen display 310. The user of the UE 116 can use the touchscreen display 310 to enter data into the UE 116. The touchscreen display 310 may be a liquid crystal display, light emitting diode display, or other display capable of rendering text and / or at least limited graphics, such as from web sites.

[0067] The memory 311 is coupled to the processor 307. Part of the memory 311 could include RAM, and another part of the memory 311 could include a Flash memory or other ROM.

[0068] Although FIG. 3 illustrates one example of UE 116, various changes may be made to FIG. 3. For example, various components in FIG. 3 could be combined, further subdivided, or omitted and additional components could be added according to particular needs. As a particular example, the processor 307 could be divided into multiple processors, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more graphics processing units (GPUs). Also, while FIG. 3 illustrates the UE 116 configured as a mobile telephone or smartphone, UEs could be configured to operate as other types of mobile or stationary devices.

[0069] How to improve spectrum utilization of a communication system is a hot issue that practitioners have always been concerned with. In recent years as the operating frequency bands of the communication system are increasingly moving towards high frequencies, the communication system may inevitably have resource conflicts with a radar system in high frequency bands. However, the communication system and radar system have a very high degree of similarity both in terms of the background theoretical knowledge and hardware structures, so the two seemingly independent systems may be fused theoretically to achieve enhancement of the function of the communication system and improvement of spectral efficiency, and to achieve an effect of mutual benefit and win-win situation. Therefore, integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) is a popular research direction in the field of communication and one of the candidate technologies for 6G. The core purpose of a system of the integrated sensing and communications is to use the same set of hardware equipment, on the basis of ensuring basic communication function, at the cost of as little resource overhead as possible, to realize sensing function of surrounding environment. The content of sensing includes distances, orientation, speeds and even types of objects in the surrounding environment. Different from the technology of positioning a access terminal in the traditional communication system, a technology of the integrated sensing and communications may also achieve sensing of a variety of information of non-access objects, which greatly increases an ability of the communication system to dynamically adjust a working state according to the surrounding environment (scheduling, beam management, an early warning of the access terminal, etc.).

[0070] The technology of the integrated sensing and communications has special requirement for reference signals. First of all, in most of application scenarios of the integrated sensing and communications, nodes of the integrated sensing and communications are required to have a sensing ability far beyond a communication coverage range, which requires that the reference signals adopted by the nodes of the integrated sensing and communications have an ability of time domain sensing.

[0071] However, the sensing ability of the standardized reference signals, whether in LTE or NR, is limited by a length of a cyclic prefix, and a time domain signal after a Fourier inverse transform is aliased and has a high peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and thus does not have a good time domain sensing ability .

[0072] In this regard, the present disclosure proposes an idea that facilitates better integrated sensing and communications, in which a sequence corresponding to a physical signal is generated according to parameters related to a time duration of the physical signal obtained based on configuration information and a time domain signal generated based on the sequence is transmitted and / or received, and since the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is generated according to the parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal, the transmitted and / or received time domain signal generated based on the sequence is no longer aliased in the time domain and has a considerably reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and thus the time domain signal has a better time domain sensing ability. Therefore, the time domain signal, when used for integrated sensing and communications, can facilitate better integrated sensing and communications. Some embodiments of the idea according to the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

[0073] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method performed by a communication node in a communication system according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 4, in step S410, configuration information of a physical signal may be obtained. According to embodiments, the physical signal may be a single-port physical signal or a multi-port physical signal. Hereinafter, each of the steps in FIG. 4 is described taking the physical signal being the single port physical signal as an example.

[0075] According to embodiments, the configuration information may include at least one of first configuration information related to a time duration of the physical signal, second configuration information related to a time offset of the physical signal, and third configuration information related to time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal. Alternatively, the configuration information may further include, without limitation, at least one of fourth configuration information related to windowing process of a sequence or the physical signal, and fifth configuration information related to a type of the sequence. According to embodiments, the fourth configuration information is used to perform or not to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal during the procedure of generating the sequence or generating the physical signal, and / or, the fifth configuration information is used to configure whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on a ZC sequence.

[0076] According to embodiments, at least one of the first configuration information to the fifth configuration information may be obtained dynamically by means of obtaining control signaling, may be obtained by means of obtaining a static configuration, and may be obtained by means of obtaining a semi-static configuration, and the present disclosure does not limit the means of obtaining the configuration information.

[0077] As an example, the first configuration information may include at least one of a ratio μ of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) waveform; the time duration T of the physical signal, e.g., in units of seconds; and a number of samples NTcorresponding to the time duration of the physical signal. For example, the ratio μmay be a positive number not greater than 1. Furthermore, the ratio μ may be given explicitly and directly in the first configuration information, or may be calculated indirectly through parameters in the first configuration information. For example, if the ratio μ is not included in the first configuration information, the ratio μ may be calculated by means of or , wherein is the number of Fourier inverse transform points (or it may also be the number of points of the Fourier transform, the two being equal) when OFDM modulation is performed, and is subcarrier spacing. In addition, the time duration T or the number of samples NTmay be given explicitly and directly in the first configuration information, or may be calculated indirectly through parameters in the first configuration information.

[0078] As an example, the second configuration information may include at least one of a ratio γ of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform; the time offsetdof the physical signal within an OFDM symbol, e.g., in units of seconds; and a number of samples Ndcorresponding to the time offsetdof the physical signal within the OFDM symbol. The ratio γ may be a non-negative real number not greater than . Further, the ratio γ may be given directly in the second configuration information, explicitly, or may be calculated indirectly through parameters in the second configuration information. For example, if the ratio γ is not included in the second configuration information, the ratio γ may be calculated by means of or , wherein NFFTis the number of the Fourier inverse transform points (or it may also be the number of points of the Fourier transform, the two being equal) when the OFDM modulation is performed, and is the subcarrier spacing. In additon, the offsetdor the number of samples Ndmay be given explicitly and directly in the first configuration information, or may also be calculated indirectly through parameters in the first configuration information.

[0079] As an example, the third configuration information may include at least one of time domain resource information and frequency domain resource information of the physical signal. For example, the time domain resource information may include at least a number of the OFDM symbol allocated for the physical signal within a time slot in which it is located, and the frequency domain resource information may include at least a number of resource blocks NRBallocated for the physical signal. Furthermore, if the third configuration information does not include the frequency domain resource information, the communicating node may default that all resource blocks within a system bandwidth are allocated for the physical signal.

[0080] As an example, the fourth configuration information may include at least one of first information for indicating whether to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal, a window sequence, second information for indicating a type of the window sequence, and parameters related to the window sequence. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the first information for indicating whether to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal may be abbreviated as "windowing indication information", the second information for indicating the type of the window sequence may be abbreviated as "window sequence type indication information", and the parameters related to the window sequence may be abbreviated as "window sequence related parameters".

[0081] According to embodiments, whether to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal may be implicitly configured. For example, if the configuration information does not include the fourth configuration information, the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal is not performed; if the configuration information includes the fourth configuration information but the fourth configuration information does not include the windowing indication information, the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal is not performed; if the configuration information includes the fourth configuration information and the fourth configuration information includes at least one of the window sequence, the second information for indicating the type of window sequence and the parameters related to the window sequence, then the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal is performed.

[0082] Alternatively, whether to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal may be indicated explicitly. For example, if the configuration information includes the fourth configuration information and the fourth configuration information includes the windowing indication information but the windowing indication information indicates not to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal, the communication node does not perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal; if the fourth configuration information includes the windowing indication information and the windowing indication information indicates to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal, the communication node performs the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal. Furthermore, alternatively, the window sequence used for windowing may be given directly in the fourth configuration information, if the fourth configuration information does not include the window sequence, the window sequence used for windowing may be indirectly generated from the window sequence type indication information and / or the window sequence related parameters in the fourth configuration information. Further, the length of the window sequence used for the windowing is the same as the length of the sequence, wherein the window sequence is power normalized, i.e. sum of squares of each elements of the window sequence is equal to 1.

[0083] As an example, the fifth configuration information may include at least one of a group number u into which the sequence is grouped, a sequence number v within each group of the sequence, third information for indicating whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence (hereinafter, for convenience of description, referred to as "sequence type indication information"). For example, the group number , and the sequence number within the group.

[0084] According to embodiments, whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence may be implicitly configured. For example, if the configuration information does not include the fifth configuration information, or if the configuration information includes the fifth configuration information but the fifth configuration information does not include the sequence type indication information or does not include the group number and the sequence number, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is not generated based on the ZC sequence. For another example, if the configuration information includes the fifth configuration information and the fifth configuration information includes the group number and the sequence number, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is generated based on the ZC sequence.

[0085] Alternatively, whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence may be explicitly configured. For example, whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence is indicated explicitly by the sequence type indication information included in the fifth configuration information.

[0086] According to embodiments, characteristics of the physical signal in the time domain may be shown in FIG. 5, wherein Tsis a time interval between samples. As shown in FIG. 5, the time offset d of the physical signal may be equal to , the time duration (also referred to as "time domain duration ") , the duration of one OFDM waveform = , and the time duration of the physical signal is less than the duration of one OFDM waveform. Herein, the time duration of the physical signal generally refers to the time duration of a portion of the physical signal where the energy is concentrated after the Fourier inverse transform.

[0087] In step S420, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated according to parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information. According to embodiments, the parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information may include at least one of the following two cases: the configuration information directly includes the parameters related to the time duration, in which case the parameters related to the time duration may be directly obtained from the configuration information; or, the parameters related to the time duration are determined based on parameters included in the configuration information.

[0088] As described above, for example, the configuration information may include the first configuration information related to the time duration of the physical signal. In this case, in step S420, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated according to the parameters related to the time duration obtained based on the first configuration information. For example, the parameters related to the time duration being obtained based on the first configuration information may include not only the case where the parameters related to the time duration are determined using only the first configuration information, but also the case where the parameters related to the time duration are determined based on the first configuration information in combination with other configuration information (e.g., the fifth configuration information).

[0089] Alternatively, step S420 may include generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information. For example, as described above, the configuration information may include, in addition to the first configuration information related to the time duration of the physical signal, the second configuration information related to the time offset of the physical signal. In this case, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated according to the parameters related to the time duration obtained based on the first configuration information and the parameters related to the time offset obtained based on the second configuration information.

[0090] For example, determination of the parameters related to the time offset based on the second configuration information includes not only the case where the parameters related to the time offset is determined using only the second configuration information, but also the case where the parameters related to the time offset is determined based on the second configuration signal in combination with other configuration information (e.g., the first configuration information).

[0091] As described above, the configuration information may also include the fifth configuration information related to the type of the sequence. For example, in the case that the sequence is determined to be generated based on the ZC sequence based on the fifth configuration information, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated based on the ZC sequence, according to the parameters related to the time duration. Alternatively, in the case that the sequence is determined to be generated based on the ZC sequence based on the fifth configuration information, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated based on the ZC sequence, according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset. For example, the fifth configuration information may include the sequence type indication information, and the sequence type indication information may indicate whether to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence. For example, in the case that the configuration information includes the fifth configuration information and the fifth configuration information includes the sequence type indication information, the communication node may generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence, according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset. Conversely, in the case that the configuration information does not include the fifth configuration information, or the fifth configuration information is included but the fifth configuration information does not include the sequence type indication information, the communication node may by default not generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence.

[0092] According to embodiments, the parameters related to the time duration may include a first value or a first parameter value obtained based on the first value, wherein the first value is a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform (e.g., μ as mentioned herein), and wherein the first value is a positive number not greater than 1. The parameters related to the time offset may include a second value or a second parameter value obtained based on the second value, wherein the second value is a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform (e.g., γ as mentioned herein), and wherein the second value is a non-negative real number not greater than a result obtained by subtracting the first value from 1.

[0093] According to embodiments, in the case that the type of the sequence is a ZC sequence, the first parameter value is a prime obtained based on a third value and the first value, wherein the third value is a value which is co-prime with a largest prime that is not greater than the length of the sequence; and / or, the second parameter value is a value obtained based on the first value, the second value and the largest prime.

[0094] For example, the first parameter value may be a prime closest to a ratio of the third value to the first value, wherein the third value is the value which is co-prime with the largest prime that is not greater than the length of the sequence; the second parameter value may be an odd closest to a value obtained by dividing a result, which is obtained by multiplying the largest prime by the second value and a fourth value, by the first value, wherein the fourth value is a predetermined positive number. For example, but not limited to this, the first parameter value may beLqas referred to in the embodiments below, the third value may beqas referred to in the embodiments below, the largest prime may be NZCas referred to in the below, the second parameter value may be D as referred to in the embodiments below, and the fourth value may be 2.

[0095] Furthermore, according to embodiments, alternatively, a phase of each element in the sequence may be a quadratic function of an index value of this element. By making the phase of each element in the sequence the quadratic function of the index value of this element, it is possible to make a time domain signal generated based on the sequence closer to a linear frequency modulation signal, thereby having more stable performance in terms of time domain sensing.

[0096] Finally, in step S430, the time domain signal generated based on the sequence may be transmitted and / or received.

[0097] Since the sequence is generated according to the parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal, and the transmitted and / or received time domain signal generated based on the sequence is no longer aliased in the time domain and has a considerably reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), the time domain signal has better time domain sensing ability. Therefore, the time domain signal, when used for integrated sensing and communications, can facilitate better integrated sensing and communications

[0098] Furthermore, as mentioned above, alternatively, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be generated according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information, in which case the transmitted and / or received time domain signal generated based on the sequence in step S430 is not only no longer aliased in the time domain and has the considerably reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), but also has a configurable offset, which makes it possible to dynamically adjust the offset of the time domain signal according to the requirement of the sensing distance range, thereby providing the time domain signal with better sensing ability, and the time domain signal, when used for the integrated sensing and communications, will be able to further improve the effect of the integrated sensing and communications.

[0099] According to embodiments, the time domain signal transmitted and / or received in step S430 may be used to perform sensing and / or channel estimation. For example, the received time domain signal may be performed time domain correlation with a local signal to perform the sensing. For another example, the time domain signal may be transmitted and the sensing may be performed based on an echo signal of the transmitted time domain signal, or the time domain signal transmitted by the communication node may be received by another communication node and the other communication node may perform auxiliary sensing based on the time domain signal. The present disclosure does not limit how to use the transmitted and / or received time domain signal to perform sensing subsequently. Alternatively, the method may further include performing the channel estimation based on the transmitted and / or received time domain signal. For example, after receiving the time domain signal, a Fourier transform may be performed on the time domain signal and a de-resource mapping is performed on the transformed signal to obtain a received sequence, and the channel estimation is performed based on the received sequence and the sequence corresponding to the physical signal.

[0100] According to embodiments, step S430 may include generating the time domain signal based on the sequence; transmitting and / or receiving the time domain signal on time-frequency resources configured based on the configuration information. For example, the time domain signal is transmitted and / or received on time-frequency resources configured based on the third configuration information. The time domain signal may be used as a reference signal in the integrated sensing and communications.

[0101] If the reference signal used for the integrated sensing and communications technique is generated in an easier way, for example, generated in the same way as the communication signal, for example, if CP-OFDM is still the dominant waveform for future communication, the reference signal may be generated in an OFDM manner, and thus resource costs may be efficiently saved (e.g., the transmitter in the existing communication system does not need to undergo major modifications).

[0102] To this end, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, the generating of the time domain signal based on the sequence may include performing a resource mapping on the sequence, mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal based on the configuration information to generate the physical signal; performing a Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to the physical signal to generate an OFDM baseband signal corresponding to the physical signal as the time domain signal. The time domain signal may be the reference signal in the integrated sensing and communications. Subsequently, after generating the time domain signal, for example, the time domain signal may be transmitted and / or received on the time-frequency resources configured based on the third configuration information. Since the time domain signal is not a signal generated directly in the time domain, but in an OFDM manner, the generation is simpler and the resource costs may be efficiently saved.

[0103] According to embodiments, as mentioned above, the configuration information may include the fourth configuration information related to the windowing process of the sequence or the physical signal for configuring to perform or not to perform the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal during the procedure of generating the sequence or generating the physical signal. Therefore, the windowing process on the sequence or the physical signal may be performed or not be performed during the procedure of generating the sequence or generating the physical signal, based on the fourth configuration information. According to embodiments, the windowing process may be multiplying the window sequence with the sequence. Both the windowing on the sequence during the procedure of generating the sequence and the windowing on the physical signal during the procedure of generating the physical signal will result in the physical signal having different signal amplitudes on at least two resource elements among the resource elements included in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal. Whereas if the windowing is not performed, the physical signal has the same signal amplitude on the resource elements included in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal. Windowing or not is configurable. For example, Windowing or not may be indicated by the windowing indication information in the fourth configuration signal. That is, the physical signal may have the same signal amplitude on the resource elements included in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, or, the physical signal may have different signal amplitudes on at least two resource elements among the resource elements included in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal. By performing the windowing on the sequence in the procedure of generating the sequence or performing the windowing on the physical signal in the procedure of generating the physical signal, the Gibbs effect of the time domain signal due to the Fourier inverse transform may be reduced, which may further reduce the PAPR of the time domain signal, so that, for example, the time domain signal may be transmitted at a higher power, thus enhancing the sensing distance range.

[0104] In the above, the method performed by a communication node according to embodiments of the present disclosure has been described. For ease of understanding, in particular of steps S420 and S430, a plurality of embodiments of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal involved in step S420, and generating the time domain signal based on the sequence in S430 mentioned above, are described below.

[0105] In the following, a first embodiment is first described. This embodiment takes the physical signal being a single port physical signal as an example. According to the first embodiment, the configuration information may include the first configuration information to the fifth configuration information. The fourth configuration information includes the windowing indication information, the window sequence type indication information, and the window sequence related parameter ρ. The fifth configuration information includes the group number u, the number v within a group, and the sequence type indication information. Further, the sequence type indication information may indicate generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence, and the group number u and the number v within a group may be any value within value ranges. In this case, the manners of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal of step 420 may be as follows:

[0106] The sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be grouped, wherein, for example, is a group number and is a sequence number within the group, such that each group contains at most two sequences. The definition of the sequence depends on the length of the sequence M. Wherein is the length of the sequence and also the number of resource elements within a bandwidth allocated to the physical signal, is the number of resource blocks allocated for the physical signal, and is the number of resource elements within a resource block.

[0107] As an example, the sequence may be given by the following equations:

[0108]

[0109] As another example, the sequence may also be given by the following equations:

[0110]

[0111] Wherein is the largest prime such that , is a prime closest to , and is an odd closest to . As an example, if the time offset is not configured in the configuration information, D=1 is defaulted by a network node.

[0112] Next, in step S430, the time domain signal may be generated based on the above sequence.

[0113] First, a resource mapping of the above sequence is performed, by mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, to generate the physical signal. For example, the network node may assume that the sequence, after being scaled by a factor which satisfies the transmit power, is performed resource mapping according to the following manners:

[0114] If the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates no windowing, the physical signal ;

[0115] If the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates windowing, the physical signal ;

[0116] wherein:

[0117] (1) k=n，, and is the number of the OFDM symbol allocated for the physical signal.

[0118] (2) The window type indication information of the fourth configuration information may indicate the use of a Kaiser window when windowing, and then the window sequence is obtained based on the Kaiser window:

[0119]

[0120] wherein is a Bessel function of the first kind and σ is a real number in order to normalize window sequence power.

[0121] It should be noted that the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information in this embodiment is not limited to indicate the Kaiser window when indicating the window function to be used when windowing, but may also indicate the use of other window functions when windowing, for example, the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information may also indicate the use of a Gaussian window when windowing, and then the window sequence is obtained based on the Gaussian window:

[0122]

[0123] wherein σ is a real number in order to normalize the window sequence power.

[0124] After generating the physical signal, the physical signal may be processed by performing the Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to generate a corresponding OFDM baseband signal as the time domain signal mentioned above.

[0125] In the above first embodiment, compared with the ZC sequence in standards such as LTE or NR, the parameter D related to the offset of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, so that the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform has a configurable offset, and the position of the time domain baseband signal within the OFDM symbol in which the time domain baseband signal is located may be dynamically adjusted according to requirement of the sensing distance range. Moreover, the parameter related to the time duration of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence, such that the time duration of the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform is shorter than the duration of one OFDM symbol, and thus this signal is no longer aliased in the time domain and the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is reduced considerably, which ensures that this signal may be used for time domain sensing. Furthermore, the windowing operation when performing the resource mapping to generate the physical signal may reduce the Gibbs effect of the time domain baseband signal due to the Fourier inverse transform, which may further reduce the PAPR of the time domain baseband signal, so that the time domain baseband signal may be transmitted at a higher power, thereby improving the sensing distance range. In addition, when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, the phase of each element in the sequence is a quadratic function of an index value of this element, which makes the time domain signal generated based on the sequence closer to a linear frequency modulation signal, thereby having more stable performance in the time domain sensing.

[0126] In the following, a second embodiment is described. This embodiment takes the physical signal being a single port physical signal as an example. According to the second embodiment, the configuration information includes the first configuration information to the fifth configuration information. The fourth configuration information includes the windowing indication information, the window sequence type indication information, and a window sequence parameter ρ. The fifth configuration information includes the group number u, the number v within the group, and the sequence type indication information. Further, the sequence type indication information may indicate to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence, and the group number u and the number v within the group may be any value within their value ranges.

[0127] In this case, the manners of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal of step 420 may be as follows:

[0128] The sequence corresponding to the physical signal may be grouped, wherein, for example, is a group number and is a sequence number within the group, such that each group contains at most two sequences. The definition of the sequence depends on the length of the sequence M. wherein is the length of the sequence and also the number of resource elements within a bandwidth allocated to the physical signal, is the number of resource blocks allocated for the physical signal, and is the number of resource elements within a resource block.

[0129] If the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates no windowing, the sequence is given by ;

[0130] If the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates windowing, the sequence is given by .

[0131] Wherein:

[0132] (1) is the largest prime such that , is a prime closest to ,and D is an odd closest to .

[0133] (2) The window type indication information of the fourth configuration information in the configuration information may indicate the use of a Kaiser window when windowing, and then the window sequence may be obtained based on the Kaiser window:

[0134]

[0135] 1. wherein is a Bessel function of the first kind and σ is a real number in order to normalize window sequence power.

[0136] 2. It should be noted that the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information in this embodiment is not limited to indicated the Kaiser window when indicating the window function to be used when windowing, but may also indicate the use of other window functions when windowing, for example, the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information may also indicate the use of a Gaussian window when windowing, and then the window sequence is generated based on the Gaussian window:

[0137]

[0138] wherein σ is a real number in order to normalize the window sequence power.

[0139] Next, in step S430, the time domain signal may be generated based on the above sequence. For example, first, a resource mapping of the above sequence is performed, by mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, to generate the physical signal. For example, a network node may assume that the sequence, after being scaled by a factor β which satisfies the transmit power, is performed resource mapping according to the following manners:

[0140] ；

[0141] Wherein k=n, , and is the OFDM symbol number allocated for the physical signal.

[0142] After generating the physical signal, the physical signal may be processed by performing the Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to generate a corresponding OFDM baseband signal.

[0143] In the above second embodiment, compared with the ZC sequence in standards such as LTE or NR, the parameter D related to the offset of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, so that the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform has a configurable offset, and the position of the time domain baseband signal within the OFDM symbol in which the time domain baseband signal is located may be dynamically adjusted according to the requirement of the sensing distance range. Moreover, the parameter related to the time duration of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence, such that the time duration of the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform is shorter than the duration of one OFDM symbol, and thus this signal is no longer aliased in the time domain and the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is reduced considerably, which ensures that this signal may be used for time domain sensing. Furthermore, the windowing operation when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may reduce the Gibbs effect of the time domain baseband signal due to the Fourier inverse transform, which may further reduce the PAPR of the time domain baseband signal, so that the time domain baseband signal may be transmitted at a higher power, and thus improving the sensing distance range. In addition, when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, the phase of each element in the sequence is a quadratic function of an index value of this element, which makes the time domain signal generated based on the sequence closer to a linear frequency modulation signal, thereby having more stable performance in the time domain sensing.

[0144] Both the first embodiment and the second embodiment generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset of the physical signal, and generate the sequence based on the ZC sequence when generating the sequence, and the technical effects that can be achieved are the same, with the difference that the windowing is performed in the procedure of generating the physical signal in the first embodiment, whereas the windowing is performed in the procedure of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal in the second embodiment.

[0145] In the following, the description continues with a third embodiment. This embodiment takes the physical signal being a single port physical signal as an example. According to the third embodiment, the configuration information may include the first configuration information to the fourth configuration information. The fourth configuration information may include the windowing indication information, the window sequence type indication information, and a window sequence parameter ρ. The configuration information may not include the fifth configuration information, and in the case that the configuration information does not include the fifth configuration information, it may be defaulted that the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may not be generated based on the ZC sequence. Or, alternatively, the configuration information may include the fifth configuration information, and in the case that the sequence type indication information included in the fifth configuration information indicates not to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may not be generated based on the ZC sequence.

[0146] For example, the manner of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal in step S420 may be as follows:

[0147] The sequence may be given by the following equation:

[0148]

[0149] Wherein:

[0150] (1) is the length of the sequence and also the number of resource elements within a bandwidth allocated to the physical signal, is the number of resource blocks allocated for the physical signal, and is the number of resource elements within a resource block;

[0151] (2) may be any phase that is independent of n;

[0152] Next, in step S430, the time domain signal may be generated based on the above sequence.

[0153] Firstly, a resource mapping of the above sequence is performed, by mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, to generate the physical signal. For example, a network node may assume that the sequence, after being scaled by a factor β which satisfies the transmit power, is performed resource mapping according to the following manners:

[0154] If the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates no windowing, then

[0155] if the window indication information in the fourth configuration information indicates windowing, then

[0156] wherein:

[0157] (1) k=n, , and is the number of OFDM symbol allocated for the physical signal.

[0158] (2) The window type indication information of the fourth configuration information may indicate the use of a Kaiser window when windowing, and then the window sequence may be obtained based on the Kaiser window:

[0159]

[0160] wherein is a Bessel function of the first kind and σ is a real number in order to normalize window sequence power.

[0161] It should be noted that the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information in this embodiment is not limited to indicate the Kaiser window when indicating the window function to be used when windowing, but may also indicate the use of other window functions when windowing, for example, the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information may also indicate the use of a Gaussian window when windowing, and then the window sequence is generated based on the Gaussian window:

[0162]

[0163] wherein σ is a real number in order to normalize the window sequence power.

[0164] After generating the physical signal, subsequently, the physical signal may be processed by performing the Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to generate a corresponding OFDM baseband signal.

[0165] In the above third embodiment, the parameter γ related to the offset of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, so that the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform has a configurable offset, and the position of the time domain baseband signal within the OFDM symbol in which the time domain baseband signal is located may be dynamically adjusted according to the requirement of the sensing distance range, and the parameter μ related to the time duration of the physical signal is introduced, such that the time duration of the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform is shorter than the duration of one OFDM symbol, and thus this signal is no longer aliased in the time domain and the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is reduced considerably, which ensures that this signal may be used for time domain sensing. Furthermore, in the third embodiment described above, the phase of each element in the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is a strict quadratic function of an index value of this element, which makes the time domain signal generated based on the sequence closer to a linear frequency modulation signal, thereby having more stable performance in the time domain sensing. In addition, the windowing operation when performing the resource mapping to generate the physical signal may reduce the Gibbs effect of the time domain baseband signal due to the Fourier inverse transform, which may further reduce the PAPR of the time domain baseband signal, so that the time domain baseband signal may be transmitted at a higher power, thereby improving the sensing distance range.

[0166] In the following, a fourth embodiment is described, this embodiment takes the physical signal being a single port physical signal as an example. According to the fourth embodiment, the configuration information may include the first configuration information to the fourth configuration information. The fourth configuration information may include the windowing indication information, the window sequence type indication information, and a window sequence parameterρ.The configuration information may not include the fifth configuration information, and in the case that the configuration information does not include the fifth configuration information, it may be defaulted that the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may not be generated based on the ZC sequence. Or, alternatively, the configuration information may include the fifth configuration information, and in the case that the sequence type indication information included in the fifth configuration information indicates not to generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal based on the ZC sequence, the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may not be generated based on the ZC sequence.

[0167] For example, the manner of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal in step S420 may be as follows:

[0168] The sequence , ..., may be given by the following equation:

[0169] If the windowing indication information in the configuration information indicates no windowing, then:

[0170]

[0171] If the window indication information in the configuration information indicates windowing, then:

[0172]

[0173] wherein:

[0174] (1) is the length of the sequence and also the number of resource elements within a bandwidth allocated to the physical signal, NRBis the number of resource blocks allocated for the physical signal, and is the number of resource elements within a resource block;

[0175] (2) θ may be any phase independent of n;

[0176] (3)The window type indication information in the fourth configuration information may indicate the use of a Kaiser window when windowing, and then the window sequence may be generated based on the Kaiser window:

[0177]

[0178] wherein is a Bessel function of the first kind and σ is a real number in order to normalize window sequence power.

[0179] It should be noted that the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information in this embodiment is not limited to indicate the Kaiser window when indicating the window function to be used when windowing, but may also indicate the use of other window functions when windowing, for example, the window type indication information in the fourth configuration information may also indicate the use of a Gaussian window when windowing, and then the window sequence is generated based on the Gaussian window:

[0180]

[0181] where σ is a real number in order to normalize the window sequence power.

[0182] Next, in step S430, the time domain signal may be generated based on the above sequence. For example, at first, a resource mapping is performed on the above sequence, by mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, to generate the physical signal. For example, the network node may assume that the sequence, after being scaled by a factor β which satisfies the transmit power, is performed resource mapping according to the following manners:

[0183]

[0184] Wherein k=n, , and is the OFDM symbol number allocated for the physical signal.

[0185] After generating the physical signal, the physical signal may be processed by performing the Fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to generate a corresponding OFDM baseband signal.

[0186] In a fourth embodiment, the parameter γ related to the offset of the physical signal is introduced when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal, so that the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform has a configurable offset, and the position of the time domain baseband signal within the OFDM symbol in which the time domain baseband signal is located may be dynamically adjusted according to the requirement of the sensing distance range, and the parameter μ related to the time duration of the physical signal is also introduced, such that the time duration of the time domain baseband signal obtained after the physical signal going through the Fourier inverse transform is shorter than the duration of one OFDM symbol, and thus this signal is no longer aliased in the time domain and the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is reduced considerably, which ensures that this signal may be used for time domain sensing. Furthermore, in the fourth embodiment, the phase of each element in the sequence corresponding to the physical signal is a strict quadratic function of an index value of this element, which makes the time domain signal generated based on the sequence closer to a linear frequency modulation signal, thereby having more stable performance in time domain sensing. In addition, the windowing operation when generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal may reduce the Gibbs effect of the time domain baseband signal due to the Fourier inverse transform, which may further reduce the PAPR of the time domain baseband signal, so that the time domain baseband signal may be transmitted at a higher power, thereby improving the sensing distance range.

[0187] Both the third embodiment and the fourth embodiment generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and the parameters related to the time offset of the physical signal, and do not generate the sequence based on the ZC sequence when generating the sequence, and the technical effects that can be achieved are the same, with the difference that the windowing is performed in the procedure of generating the physical signal in the third embodiment, whereas the windowing is performed in the procedure of generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal in the fourth embodiment.

[0188] A method performed by a communication node according to embodiments of the present disclosure has been described above with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5, according to the method, by generating the sequence according to the parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal obtained based on configuration information and transmitting and / or receiving the time domain signal generated based on the sequence, the time domain signal has better time domain sensing ability since the time domain signal generated based on the sequence is no longer aliased in the time domain and has a considerably reduced peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), and thus, the transmitted and / or received time domain signal, when used for the integrated sensing and communications, can facilitate better integrated sensing and communications.

[0189] FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a communication node according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6, the communication node 600 may include a transceiver 601 and a processor 602, wherein the processor 602 is coupled to the transceiver 601 and configured to perform the method as described above with reference to FIG. 4. According to embodiments, the communication node may be a terminal, a base station, and so on, as long as it is a node with communication functions.

[0190] In addition, according to embodiments of the disclosure, there may be provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to execute the above mentioned method. Examples of computer-readable storage media herein include: read-only memory (ROM), random access programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), flash memory, non-volatile memory, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD+R, CD-RW, CD+RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD-ROM, BD-R, BD-R LTH, BD-RE, Blu-ray or optical disk memory, hard disk drive (HDD), solid state drive (SSD), card-based memory (such as, multimedia cards, Secure Digital (SD) cards or Extreme Digital (XD) cards), magnetic tapes, floppy disks, magneto-optical data storage devices, optical data storage devices, hard disks, solid state disks, and any other device, where the other device is configured to store the computer programs and any associated data, data files, and / or data structures in a non-transitory manner and to provide the computer programs and any associated data, data files, and data structures to a processor or computer, so that the processor or computer may execute the computer program. The computer program in the computer readable storage medium may run in an environment deployed in a computer device such as a terminal, client, host, agent, server, etc., and furthermore, in one example, the computer program and any associated data, data files and data structures are distributed on a networked computer system such that the computer program and any associated data, data files and data structures are stored, accessed, and / or executed in a distributed manner by one or more processors or computers.

[0191] Other embodiments of the disclosure will readily come to the mind of those skilled in the art upon consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the present disclosure that follow the general principles of the disclosure and include commonly known or customary technical means in the art that are not disclosed herein. Embodiments and the specification are merely examples, and the scope and spirit of the disclosure is defined by the following claims.

Claims

1.A method performed by a communication node in a communication system, comprising:obtaining configuration information of a physical signal;generating a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to a time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information; andtransmitting or receiving a time domain signal generated based on the sequence.2.The method of claim 1, wherein the generating of a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to the time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information comprises:generating the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and parameters related to a time offset of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information.3.The method of claim 1, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of first configuration information related to the time duration of the physical signal, second configuration information related to the time offset of the physical signal, or third configuration information related to time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal.4.The method of claim 3, wherein the generating of the time domain signal based on the sequence comprises:performing a resource mapping on the sequence, mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal based on the configuration information to generate the physical signal; andperforming a fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to the physical signal to generate an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) baseband signal corresponding to the physical signal as the time domain signal.5.The method of claim 1, wherein the physical signal has the same signal amplitude on resource elements comprised in time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, or the physical signal have different signal amplitudes on at least two resource elements among the resource elements comprised in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, andwherein a phase of each element in the sequence is a quadratic function of an index value of this element.6.The method of claim 3,wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform; the time duration of the physical signal; a number of samples corresponding to the time duration of the physical signal;wherein the second configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform; the time offset of the physical signal within an OFDM symbol; a number of samples corresponding to the time offset of the physical signal within the OFDM symbol, andwherein the third configuration information comprises at least one of time domain resource information and frequency domain resource information of the physical signal.7.The method of claim 1, wherein the parameters related to the time duration comprises a first value or a first parameter value obtained based on the first value, wherein the first value is a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform, and the first value is a positive number not greater than 1, andwherein the parameters related to the time offset comprises a second value or a second parameter value obtained based on the second value, wherein the second value is a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform, and the second value is a non-negative real number and not greater than a result obtained by subtracting the first value from 1.8.A communication node comprising:a transceiver; anda processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to:obtain configuration information of a physical signal,generate a sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to parameters related to a time duration of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information, andtransmit or receive, via the transceiver, a time domain signal generated based on the sequence.9.The communication node of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to:generate the sequence corresponding to the physical signal according to the parameters related to the time duration and parameters related to a time offset of the physical signal obtained based on the configuration information.10.The communication node of claim 8, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of first configuration information related to the time duration of the physical signal, second configuration information related to the time offset of the physical signal, or third configuration information related to time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal.11.The communication node of claim 10, wherein the generating of the time domain signal based on the sequence comprises:perform a resource mapping on the sequence, mapping the sequence to the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal based on the configuration information to generate the physical signal, andperform a fourier inverse transform and adding a cyclic prefix to the physical signal to generate an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) baseband signal corresponding to the physical signal as the time domain signal.12.The communication node of claim 8, wherein the physical signal has the same signal amplitude on resource elements comprised in time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, or the physical signal have different signal amplitudes on at least two resource elements among the resource elements comprised in the time-frequency resources allocated for the physical signal, andwherein a phase of each element in the sequence is a quadratic function of an index value of this element.13.The communication node of claim 10,wherein the first configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform; the time duration of the physical signal; a number of samples corresponding to the time duration of the physical signal,wherein the second configuration information comprises at least one of a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform; the time offset of the physical signal within an OFDM symbol; a number of samples corresponding to the time offset of the physical signal within the OFDM symbol, andwherein the third configuration information comprises at least one of time domain resource information and frequency domain resource information of the physical signal.14.The communication node of claim 8, wherein the parameters related to the time duration comprises a first value or a first parameter value obtained based on the first value, wherein the first value is a ratio of the time duration of the physical signal to a duration of one OFDM waveform, and the first value is a positive number not greater than 1, andwherein the parameters related to the time offset comprises a second value or a second parameter value obtained based on the second value, wherein the second value is a ratio of the time offset of the physical signal to the duration of one OFDM waveform, and the second value is a non-negative real number and not greater than a result obtained by subtracting the first value from 1.

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